Activation of bone marrow–resident memory T cells by circulating, antigen-bearing dendritic cells

• DOI: 10.1038/ni1249
• Publication Date: 2005-09-11T17:44:16Z
• Authors: Lois L Cavanagh; Roberto Bonasio; Irina B Mazo; Cornelia Halin; Guiying Cheng; Adrianus W M van ...; Annaiah Cariappa; Catherine Chase; Paul Russell; Michael N Starnbach; Pandelakis A Koni; Shiv Pillai; Wolfgang Weninger; Ulrich H von Andrian
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Mice, Inbred BALB C; T-Lymphocytes; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; Mice, Transgenic; Dendritic Cells; Lymphocyte Activation; 3. Good health; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice; Mice, Congenic; 03 medical and health sciences; Bone Marrow; Cell Movement; Selectins; Animals; Blood Vessels; Endothelium, Vascular; Immunologic Memory

Dendritic cells (DCs) carry antigen from peripheral tissues via lymphatics to lymph nodes. We report here that differentiated DCs can also travel from the periphery into the blood. Circulating DCs migrated to the spleen, liver and lung but not lymph nodes. They also homed to the bone marrow, where they were retained better than in most other tissues. Homing of DCs to the bone marrow depended on constitutively expressed vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and endothelial selectins in bone marrow microvessels. Two-photon intravital microscopy in bone marrow cavities showed that DCs formed stable antigen-dependent contacts with bone marrow-resident central memory T cells. Moreover, using this previously unknown migratory pathway, antigen-pulsed DCs were able to trigger central memory T cell-mediated recall responses in the bone marrow.